Zilpah
Encyclopedia
In the Book of Genesis, Zilpah (זִלְפָּה "Drooping", Standard Hebrew Zilpa, Tiberian Hebrew
Zilpāh) is Leah
's handmaid who becomes a wife of Jacob
and bears him two sons Gad and Asher
.
Zilpah is given to Leah
as a handmaid by Leah's father, Laban
, upon Leah's marriage to Jacob (see Genesis 29:24, 46:18). According to some commentators, Zilpah and Bilhah
, the handmaids of Leah and Rachel
, respectively, were actually younger daughters of Laban {Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer
, xxxvi.}.
According to Rashi
, an 11th century commentator, Zilpah was younger than Bilhah
, and Laban's decision to give her to Leah was part of the deception he used to trick Jacob into marrying Leah, who was older than Rachel. The morning after the wedding, Laban explained to Jacob, "This is not done in our place, to give the younger before the older" . But at night, to mask the deception, Laban gave the veiled bride the younger of the handmaids, so Jacob would think that he was really marrying Rachel, the younger of the sisters.
Zilpah also figures in the competition between Jacob's wives to bear him sons. Leah stops conceiving after the birth of her fourth son, at which point Rachel, who had not yet borne children, offers her handmaid, Bilhah, in marriage to Jacob so that she can have children through her. When Bilhah conceives two sons, Leah takes up the same idea and presents Zilpah as a wife to Jacob. Leah
names the two sons of Zilpah and is directly involved in their upbringing.
In Jewish tradition, Zilpah is believed to be buried in the Tomb of the Matriarchs
in Tiberias.
by Anita Diamant
, Zilpah and Bilhah are represented as half-sisters of Leah and Rachel by different mothers.
Tiberian Hebrew
Tiberian Hebrew is the extinct canonical pronunciation of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh and related documents in the Roman Empire. This traditional medieval pronunciation was committed to writing by Masoretic scholars based in the Jewish community of Tiberias , in the form of the Tiberian vocalization...
Zilpāh) is Leah
Leah
Leah , as described in the Hebrew Bible, is the first of the two concurrent wives of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob and mother of six of sons whose descendants became the Twelve Tribes of Israel, along with at least one daughter, Dinah. She is the daughter of Laban and the older sister of Rachel, whom...
's handmaid who becomes a wife of Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
and bears him two sons Gad and Asher
Asher
Asher , in the Book of Genesis, is the second son of Jacob and Zilpah, and the founder of the Tribe of Asher.-Name:The text of the Torah argues that the name of Asher means happy/blessing, implying a derivation from the Hebrew term osher ; the Torah actually presents this in two variations—beoshri...
.
Zilpah is given to Leah
Leah
Leah , as described in the Hebrew Bible, is the first of the two concurrent wives of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob and mother of six of sons whose descendants became the Twelve Tribes of Israel, along with at least one daughter, Dinah. She is the daughter of Laban and the older sister of Rachel, whom...
as a handmaid by Leah's father, Laban
Laban (Bible)
Laban is the son of Bethuel, brother of Rebekah and the father of Leah and Rachel and Bilhah and Zilpah as described in the Book of Genesis. As such he is brother-in-law to Isaac and both father-in-law and uncle to Jacob...
, upon Leah's marriage to Jacob (see Genesis 29:24, 46:18). According to some commentators, Zilpah and Bilhah
Bilhah
In the Book of Genesis, Bilhah is Rachel's handmaid who becomes a wife of Jacob and bears him two sons, Dan and Naphtali....
, the handmaids of Leah and Rachel
Rachel
Rachel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, is a prophet and the favorite wife of Jacob, one of the three Biblical Patriarchs, and mother of Joseph and Benjamin. She was the daughter of Laban and the younger sister of Leah, Jacob's first wife...
, respectively, were actually younger daughters of Laban {Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer
Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer
Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer is an aggadic-midrashic work on Genesis, part of Exodus, and a few sentences of Numbers, ascribed to R. Eliezer ben Hyrcanus , a disciple of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai and teacher of Rabbi Akiva. It comprises fifty four chapters...
, xxxvi.}.
According to Rashi
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
, an 11th century commentator, Zilpah was younger than Bilhah
Bilhah
In the Book of Genesis, Bilhah is Rachel's handmaid who becomes a wife of Jacob and bears him two sons, Dan and Naphtali....
, and Laban's decision to give her to Leah was part of the deception he used to trick Jacob into marrying Leah, who was older than Rachel. The morning after the wedding, Laban explained to Jacob, "This is not done in our place, to give the younger before the older" . But at night, to mask the deception, Laban gave the veiled bride the younger of the handmaids, so Jacob would think that he was really marrying Rachel, the younger of the sisters.
Zilpah also figures in the competition between Jacob's wives to bear him sons. Leah stops conceiving after the birth of her fourth son, at which point Rachel, who had not yet borne children, offers her handmaid, Bilhah, in marriage to Jacob so that she can have children through her. When Bilhah conceives two sons, Leah takes up the same idea and presents Zilpah as a wife to Jacob. Leah
Leah
Leah , as described in the Hebrew Bible, is the first of the two concurrent wives of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob and mother of six of sons whose descendants became the Twelve Tribes of Israel, along with at least one daughter, Dinah. She is the daughter of Laban and the older sister of Rachel, whom...
names the two sons of Zilpah and is directly involved in their upbringing.
In Jewish tradition, Zilpah is believed to be buried in the Tomb of the Matriarchs
Tomb of the Matriarchs
The Tomb of The Matriarchs, , in Tiberias, Israel, is the traditional burial place of several Biblical women:*Zilpah, handmaid of Leah.*Bilhah, handmaid of Rachel.*Jochebed, mother of Moses.*Zipporah, wife of Moses....
in Tiberias.
Popular culture
In the novel The Red TentThe Red Tent
The Red Tent is a novel by Anita Diamant, published in 1997 by Wyatt Books for St. Martin's Press. It is a first-person narrative that tells the story of Dinah, daughter of Jacob and sister of Joseph, a talented midwife and proto-feminist. She is a minor character in the Bible, but the author has...
by Anita Diamant
Anita Diamant
Anita Diamant is an American author of fiction and non-fiction books. She is best known for her novel, The Red Tent, a New York Times best seller...
, Zilpah and Bilhah are represented as half-sisters of Leah and Rachel by different mothers.